Anyone who wishes to transfer data over a network to a storage location is faced with the question of how to securely transfer the data in a timely manner. In cloud computing, for example, developers and other users access a service that provides dynamic and resizable compute capacity without requiring the developers to have knowledge of, or control over, the technological infrastructure that provides the service. Developers, for example, that use cloud computing sometimes have a need to upload substantial amounts of data to a network storage location.
To access a network, for example, a developer may use a fiber optic line, such as a T1 line. A T1 line can carry data at a rate of approximately 1.544 megabits per second. Using a single T1 line to continuously transfer data, it would take approximately an entire month to transfer 400 gigabytes of data. If a developer wishes to transfer data at a faster rate or does not wish to burden a T1 line with a large data transfer, the developer is faced with the question of whether to acquire additional T1 lines. Acquiring additional T1 lines comes at additional expense. Furthermore, the developer may not have a need for the increased data capacity for day-to-day operations, making acquiring additional T1 lines cost inefficient.
Similar to developers, others may also want to transfer data to a network storage location. For example, others may wish to simply backup their data with a copy that resides at another location. These users may also transfer large amounts of data over a network, which can take a substantial amount of time to transfer. Consequently, any entity that wishes to transfer a large amount of data is faced with the question of how to securely transfer the data in a reasonable amount of time without unduly burdening its own network resources or without incurring an additional expense to obtain a greater data transfer rate capacity.
To avoid data transfer delays and capacity limitations, individuals who wish to transfer large amounts of data to network storage devices can simply avoid transferring their data over a network altogether. Instead, these individuals can store their data on portable media and send the media by courier to a location where the data is transferred from the media. Since the data is transferred directly from the media, transfer rates to a network storage device are dramatically faster. However, when sending data in this manner, the recipient of the media (e.g., the service provider) who loads the data to a customer's account may want to confirm that the media was sent pursuant to the customer's authorization. Without proper safeguards, an imposter could send media that includes malicious code or code that is designed to steal information, which could then be unsuspectingly transferred to a network storage device.
In view of the foregoing, there are data transfer rate and capacity limitations that limit the amount of data that can be transferred over a network during a given time period. As an alternative to transferring data over a network, one may send data on physical media for direct transfer, but safeguards are needed to ensure that, for example, only data that is actually authorized is transferred. Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods that overcome the above problems.